John Kerry arrives in Middle East to push for peace talks, again

Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Amman on June 26, where he is expected to have meetings on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
(AFP/Getty Images)

JERUSALEM, Israel — US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday continued his efforts to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process with a fifth visit to the Middle East.

He is meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan, and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, and is expected to shuttle between the two capitals for the next three days.

As in the days leading up to every previous Kerry visit, Israelis and Palestinians blamed each other for the logjam. Speaking on Israel Radio Thursday morning, senior Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub said: “The ball is in the other court. Does Netanyahu really believe in two states for two peoples? Are we going to negotiate to resolve the conflict, or just to manage it? ... If we truly see that the other side is going in the direction of two states for two peoples, believe me, we'll meet them halfway.'

In an interview with the Washington Post last week, Netanyahu expressed an almost identical sentiment.

“If Secretary Kerry, whose efforts we support, were to pitch a tent halfway between here and Ramallah — that's 15 minutes away driving time — I'm in it, I'm in the tent,' the Israeli prime minister said. “And I'm committed to stay in the tent and negotiate for as long as it takes to work out a solution of peace and security between us and the Palestinians.'

Despite the posturing, there are indications that Kerry's determined optimism may be bringing the two sides closer together.

A senior cabinet minister close to Netanyahu was quoted in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz saying that Netanyahu is prepared to cede much of the West Bank to a future Palestinian state.

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“Netanyahu understands that for a peace agreement, it will be necessary to withdraw from more than 90 percent of the West Bank and evacuate more than a few settlements,' the minister said. “He knows this is one of the things that will be discussed.'

Significant differences persist before an agreement can be reached. The Palestinians are demanding a complete settlement freeze before they agree to resume negotiations. Netanyahu is expected to demand the demilitarization of the Palestinian state.

Kerry has said that there is no deadline for resuming talks, he would like to see progress “long before' the United Nations General Assembly in September.

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